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Topic Review (Newest First)

08-23-2014 07:41 PM

SuperG

Sableshep,

Same thing here to a degree....

I have followed some advice from members of this forum and made progress...I do believe it is a long road but if you are willing, you can and will make some headway.

Find his thresholds and start from there....little by little....no home runs...just keep plugging away and offer a better route for the dog to take as it gets it's way as you get yours.

SuperG

08-23-2014 05:51 PM

llombardo

I'm going with excitability, which you can say is or isn't reactive. My oldest golden will bark at other dogs, at the same time he is dancing because he is so excited. Both my goldens are great at the dog park, they will play but for the most part are focused on me and swimming. There is nothing wrong with using a prong on a golden for training purposes. Have you done obedience classes with him? They are great dogs to train with and love making their owners happy. I will say that a number of goldens I have seen at the dog park did not have great temperaments. Lots of growling over their toys. I was not shocked to see it myself. Like lots of people I used to automatically think goldens = happy go lucky dogs, but that is not always the case. My oldest is the one that will alert all the rest of the dogs and if you didn't know he was a golden and you were at my door you would think he was a Rott. I would start with some classes and work on getting him to focus on you, it shouldn't be hard to do.

08-23-2014 05:26 PM

Mary Beth

It seems to me that your golden is dog reactive. I don't think it can be fixed, but it can be managed and he can learn to behave better. If you have a trainer in your area, you may want to consult one. For what you can do on your own, I would suggest curving or turning abruptly and go in the other direction when you see another dog - keep your dog focused on you not the other dog. Reward and praise when he follows. As he iimproves you can narrow the distance. Stop him from barking at another dog when he is inside the house and one goes by. Put yourself in front of him - back to him and you look out the window. Reward when he is quiet. Then he can look out the window. That shows him that you are in charge.

08-23-2014 05:04 PM

Sableshep

Aggression when first meeting? (Non GSD)

I have a 3 y.o male golden I've had since the day he was born, he was brought to puppy play groups, the dog park and raised with other dogs kids etc.. When he was about 1-1/12 he would start being a little more 'bossy' and rough at the dog park so we stopped going. He progsressivley got worse and when ever we pass a dog on a. Walk or he sees one out the window he barks, hackles go up and goes nuts. I've pet sitted two dogs latley and we introduce them througha. Fence with my goldens muzzle on and eventually he is great with them! He plays shows no dominance or agression. He only goes crazy when he first sees a dog or they are not properly introduced for an hour. He's a big 90 pound boy so he scares the other owners away :/ I dont know how to control his behavior on walks? I'd like to take him places and he loves peopel but I dread seeing other dogs on walks? How do I 'fix' his behavior? Sorry for the long post